CONSERVATIVES LOSE GOVERNORSHIP OF STYRIA

UNCLAS VIENNA 003269

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/AGS

E.O. 12958: N/A

TAGS: PGOV AU
SUBJECT: CONSERVATIVES LOSE GOVERNORSHIP OF STYRIA


THIS MESSAGE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: In the state election in Styria on

October 2, Chancellor Schuessel's conservative People's

Party (OVP) suffered a significant defeat at the hands of

the opposition Social Democrats (SPO). The OVP failed

to hold Styria's governorship for the first time in the

post-World War II era. A populist City Councilor from

the state capital of Graz led the Communist Party (KPO)

to a third-place finish - a showing based much more on

personal charm than on ideology. The Greens managed to

hold onto their three seats in the state legislature.

The right-wing Freedom Party (FPO),the "Alliance Future

Austria" (BZO) of Carinthian governor Joerg Haider, and

an independent list headed by OVP renegade Hirschmann all

failed to make the cut for the legislature. End Summary.


2. (U) vote pct., (change from 2000),legislature seats

OVP 38.7 (-8.6) 24

SPO 41.7 (+9.4) 25

Greens 4.7 (-0.9) 3

KPO 6.3 (+5.3) 4

FPO 4.6 (-7.8) -

BZO 1.7 (-) -

Hirsch- 2.0 (-) -

Mann

Electorate: 929,795 Voter Turnout: 75.6 Percent


3. (SBU) OVP politicians assigned the blame for their

defeat to dissident Gerhard Hirschmann's muckraking

campaign. Hirschmann, a former Styrian OVP Party

Manager, accused his former colleagues of malfeasance in

scandals concerning mismanagement in the Styrian power

company, fraudulent use of state subsidies for a game

park owned by a prominent aristocratic family, as well as

supposed OVP payoffs to convince Hirschmann not to run in

the election. In the end, the charges appeared to

backfire, hurting Hirschmann as well as his erstwhile

colleagues. While Styrian Governor (and OVP state

chairwoman) Waltraud Klasnic appeared to be losing

control, SPO candidate Franz Voves coasted to victory

with a press-the-flesh campaign and feelgood singalongs.


4. (SBU) The Greens lost some ground after a rather

bland campaign by their top candidate but defended their

three seats. The Communists benefited from the personal

appeal of the mild-mannered, grandfatherly Graz City

Councilor Ernest Kaltenegger. The Styrian ballot was the

first one since the Freedom Party split. The "old" FPO

lost two-thirds of its support, missing the threshold for

representation in the state parliament. BZO chairman

Haider's heavy involvement in the Styrian campaign did

not help. The result confirmed nationwide polls which

show the BZO at only two to three percent.


5. (SBU) COMMENT: Haider's new spinoff party, BZO, has

failed to establish itself anywhere other than on his

home turf in Carinthia. While the election turned on

local issues, the losses come as a blow to both federal

coalition partners. OVP and BZO are likely to perform

poorly in two more state elections to follow in October,

in Burgenland and Vienna. As a result of the Styrian

election, the federal coalition also loses its majority

in Parliament's Upper House, or Bundesrat, composed of

representatives of the federal states. The Bundesrat has

no veto, but can delay bills for up to six weeks.

BROWN